Daemon Rising
by Solar Eclipse23
Summary: Davis is in high school and struggling with his feelings for Kari, who is with TK. Meanwhile in the Dark Ocean, Daemon is gathering power. As tensions flare among the DigiDestined, the forces of light and dark prepare to clash in one final battle. Daikari
1. Prologue: Nightmares and Dreamscapes

All around him, the ocean snarled and writhed, its black waves slamming ruthlessly against the shore. He stood at the edge of the sea, where the ashen sand of the beach met the cold, black edge of the water. Huge, towering waves crested with grey froth burst and swelled further out into the ocean, their foam resembling pale, skeletal fingers that groped hopelessly for warm flesh.

The figure stood motionless on the shore. Not with the flicker of a muscle did he move from his position, even as the billowing waves surged forward and lapped against his feet, sending rippling surges of cold throughout his legs. Curtains of mist hung in shrouds over him, slithering across his cloaked form. He felt a deep, numbing cold as the tendrils of mist caressed him.

A particularly large wave slammed into the surf, spraying him with tiny particles of darkness. As the ice bit into his face, he raised a hand. His thick, clawed fingers pointed out toward the water.

A bright ball of orange flame manifested in his hand and leaped from his pale fingers. The light cast by the fireball was immediately swallowed by the darkness, as though it was a sentient being and light was its most coveted delicacy. The fireball travelled out into the ocean, sending two massive jets of water out on either side of it as it passed through the cresting waves and disappeared into the hazy mist, where the ocean met the monochrome sky in a flat, dreadful line.

Far out into sea, a whirlpool began to form.

The figure grinned savagely as geysers of water began to rip upward from the ocean, blasting towards the sky with vicious intent. All around him in the blackness, shapes began to emerge from the water: pale, vaguely humanoid shapes, some hunched over with equipment on their backs. Dark, slanted eyes reminiscent of coals gleamed out from the darkness.

"A stranger... a stranger..."

Low, raspy voices began to rise from the creatures as they began to glide across the waves toward him. As they drew closer, he realized the creatures appeared to have no substance – instead of defined features, they appeared to be composed of a murky, gloomy darkness, which shifted and simmered in the greyish light.

"Stranger... stranger..."

Their fingers reached out to him. Further out on the ocean, a thick, twisted shape resembling a serpent reared up and breached the waves.

"Stranger... stranger..."

They were almost upon him. Their huge, glowing eyes floated closer in the mist, fixated upon him, yearning for him. They slithered ever closer, a seething mass.

"Stranger... stranger..."

They flowed around him like water, obstructing his view of all else. Dark shapes pressed against him on all sides. He smiled.

Their fingers closed tightly around his arm.

All at once, there was a bright flash of fiery gold light, and the crowd of creatures crumpled to the sand around him, dead. A split second later they all dissolved into infinitesimal specks of darkness. The creatures at the edge of the shore that had not reached him yet jerked back in surprise. He turned to look at them, and raised his hand.

Another burst of fire ripped through the shroud of darkness. It flowed across the dark creatures in a tide, obliterating them.

Now harsh, panicked, croaky voices were rising all around him. Several of the creatures leaned over, aiming something on their backs at him. Their voices chorused simultaneously:

"Striking Fish!"

A legion of harpoons shot towards him, their sharp, deadly points speeding towards his face. The figure raised a hand, and each incoming harpoon dissolved harmlessly into thin air as they neared him.

The fish creatures began to glide backward, croaking in fright. They turned away and began to swim frantically out into the dark ocean.

The figure laughed cruelly. "Evil Inferno!" he roared, and a mammoth stream of fire leapt from his hands and consumed the fleeing creatures. The sea swirled and churned as his flames danced across its surface, and when the waves died down, not a single living creature could be seen atop the waves.

The figure lowered his hands and stared out at the ocean. In the distance, the sea began to whirl and curve as the great whirlpool he had glimpsed earlier grew larger. Foamy grey waves leapt into the air as a great black hole appeared in the water.

As he watched, a hulking black shape began to rise from the depths of the whirlpool.

The figure stood motionless as the black shape rose, taking on shape and form through the mist: thick, waving tentacles, vast leathery wings, a bulging head. The dark beast reared back in all its sickening glory, letting out a roar that seemed to split the sky in two.

On the beach, the figure stood coldly in place, unaffected by the demonic roar. He glared contemptuously at the huge black mass before him, his lip curling beneath the shadow of his hood as it swirled and roared.

The creature began to crawl forward through the waves, its many limbs ploughing deeply into the surface of the water. The figure looked up as it gradually drew closer, finally coming to a halt before him.

Water dripped off the creature's shimmery black skin in rivulets. It appeared to be made of the same black substance as the creatures that had attacked him. It leaned forward, its massive eyes burning red, larger than car tires. At full size, it was larger than a skyscraper.

The figure grinned.

The massive black creature lowered its head until it was level with the figure. Thick tendrils of saliva dripped from its dagger like teeth, which gleamed of black ivory in the mist. It opened its mouth, and a pattern of strange noises originated within its deep throat: a burst of echoing clicks and sonic whispers. The guttural noise of its throat somewhat muffled the sound, but the figure understood the creature perfectly.

_What are you?_

The figure smiled and reared backward. His cloak suddenly ripped apart at the back as broad wings burst from beneath his shadowy cloak. Flaring once, twice, he was borne into the air and hovered before the great beast, smiling.

"I am the darkness in which all life dies," Daemon uttered, staring into the flaming depths of the beast's eyes. It snarled once, more of the strange sonar-like noises coming from its throat.

_Why have you come?_

"I'm here to make you an offer you can't refuse," Daemon said, grinning savagely as the creature threw back its head and roared into the sky. That was when the moon rose – black.


	2. The Way Things Are

Somewhere in the Real World, a small blue creature was leaping repeatedly up and down on a bedspread, bouncing off a large shape under the covers. "Davis! Davis! DAVIS!"

Davis Motomiya felt the small weight collide with his chest again and again. Groaning, he raised a hand lazily and swatted at the creature, but it ducked under his hand and began to nudge at his face.

"Davis, wake up! You'll be late!"

"Ugh..." Davis grunted as he sat up, his eyes almost glued together with sleep. Bright sunlight was streaming into his window, razing deep streaks of gold onto his hardwood bedroom floor. Davis rubbed at his eyes and focused on the small blue and white creature before him as it leaped around and giggled.

"DemiVeemon, can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" he said in an aggravated tone. "We'll play later."

"But it's time for school, Davis!" his Digimon partner replied, now rolling around on the bed sheets. "You need to hurry!"

"You don't even go to school," Davis mumbled as he rolled over and shut his eyes again. "Why do you care if I'm late?"

"I thought you were supposed to walk Kari to school?" DemiVeemon piped up.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Crud, I completely forgot!" Davis leaped out of bed as though he had been burned. In the process, he tugged all the sheets away and DemiVeemon ended up sprawled in a heap on the floor, buried in the navy blue covers.

"Davssss!" a small voice, somewhat muffled, came from the lump of covers as Davis sped to his dresser and kicked off his pyjama bottoms. "Hlllp mee!"

"Sorry, buddy," Davis grinned as he pulled on a pair of black jean shorts and a navy blue polo shirt. "Time's a wastin'!"

"Thhhhtsss nnnttt fnnyyy!" DemiVeemon's voice followed Davis out of his room as he walked briskly down the hall towards the dining room. His whole family was already up. His mother was puttering around in the kitchen, scrambling eggs on the stove while simultaneously pouring a cup of steaming coffee into a mug with a heart-shaped handle. His father was presently hidden behind a large stack of newspaper, with another cup of coffee already on the table before him. Lastly, June was seated at the table, wolfing down a plate of scrambled eggs and toast with her eyes glued to the T.V. playing in the living room.

"You overslept again," his mother stated as she slid a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him. She barely had time to withdraw her hands before Davis began inhaling the meal.

"Mmmppff," Davis responded, his cheeks bulging. June threw him a disgusted look before glancing back at the T.V. "Don't talk with your mouth open."

"Gee, thanks, _Mom_," Davis said sarcastically, after swallowing loudly. At that moment, a small blue blur raced into the kitchen and ran right into one of the table legs. All the Motomiyas glanced downward at DemiVeemon, who was cross-eyed and stumbling around like a drunk.

"Large fries and a coke, please!" he mumbled, before tripping over his own feet. "Very funny, little guy," Davis's mother replied, setting a plate down on the floor for him. "Here you go. It's your favourite."

"Bacon! Yippee!" DemiVeemon squealed as he righted himself immediately and rocketed over to the plate, where he began gnawing on the strips of bacon laid out on the plate. Davis watched him with amusement. DemiVeemon got a kick out of all salty foods, especially bacon. For some strange reason, he also seemed to go haywire over cornflakes.

_Maybe he likes things that crunch,_ Davis mused as he scoured his plate clean. _It's been five years since I first met him and I still don't understand him._

"Aren't you late for school?" His father asked, lowering the paper. Davis glanced at the microwave clock and nearly spat a mouthful of orange juice across the table. "Yeah, I'll say. I was supposed to meet Kari ten minutes ago!"

He got up from the table and seized his knapsack from the living room couch before bending over at the door to lace up his sneakers. He then grabbed Tai's goggles from a small key peg at the door and snapped them onto his head. "Want to walk with me to school, DemiVeemon?"

However, his blue and white partner was rolling around on the kitchen floor, clutching a scrap of food between his hands and giggling crazily. "Bacon!" he cried inarticulately.

"Guess that's a no, huh?" Davis smirked, opening the door. "I'm out of here, Mom, Dad. See you later."

"Bye," his parents chorused from inside. "Have a nice last day!" his mother added. Davis nodded. "Sure will. Oh, and June, I'm sorry I spread all those rumours about you and Sarah kissing each other at Katie's birthday party."

"WHAT?" she shrieked, and Davis quickly pulled the door closed and ran, but not before he heard a clatter as June whipped her spoon at his retreating form.

x x x x

Davis ran all the way to Kari's street, even though he knew he was already hopelessly late. As he dashed past, several pedestrians glanced at him curiously.

_I'll never oversleep again._

He rounded the corner of Kari's street and spotted her immediately, sitting by a grouping of small hedges outside her apartment, legs crossed. She smiled at him as he jogged closer, her chocolate eyes sparkling in the morning light. Not for the first time, he marvelled at how beautiful she was. Her long mahogany hair had grown from its previous cut when they were all adventuring, and now it had grown to reach her shoulders. At the moment, however, her hair was drawn up in a bun, with several loose strands escaping from her hair elastic and gently framing her face.

"Hey," he panted as he pulled up alongside her.

"Hey yourself," she replied, giggling at the sight of him so bedraggled, as he placed his hands on his knees and doubled over. "Good thing I didn't hold my breath."

"Yeah... sorry..." Davis choked out, massaging a stitch in his side. "I got held up."

"Slept in again?" Kari said, grinning. Davis returned the smile somewhat sheepishly, scratching the back of his head with one hand. "Something like that, yeah."

Kari looked him up and down, still smiling. He was dressed in wrinkled black shorts and a navy shirt, which actually looked good on him despite the obvious fact that he had clearly pulled them on not a moment before he tore out of his house.

The DigiDestined of Light smacked him playfully on the shoulder. "You never learn, do you? Come on, sleepyhead, we'll be late for school if we don't hurry up."

"Gotcha, princess," he said, and she beamed like an idiot. She loved that he had his own pet name for her. It didn't mean anything – at least, she thought not – but it was innocent and sweet all the same.

Davis fell into step beside her, and Kari looked over at him. "I like your shirt. It looks really good on you."

"This thing?" Davis turned slightly pink and tugged at his collar self-consciously. "Thanks, I guess. I just found it at the bottom of my drawer."

"I don't want to know what else lives down there," Kari smirked, and Davis laughed loudly. "Fair point. You look pretty good yourself," he added softly, looking sideways at her and blushing.

The truth was, she looked radiant. Kari was wearing a very soft-looking white skirt, which flowed around her knees and highlighted her fair, gorgeous legs. A series of flowers was stitched into the material. She had also complimented it with a pale yellow, button-up blouse that had the top two buttons undone. Not enough to look promiscuous, but it fit snugly around her breasts and was just enough to give him the barest glimpse of that tantalizing cleavage.

_Focus, damn it!_ Davis suddenly straightened up, feeling mortified. Had she seen him looking? He braced himself for an angry outburst but she merely laughed. So he hadn't been as obvious as he thought. He relaxed slightly and they moved onward toward the school, chatting all the while.

As they continued onward, Davis began to ease into a state of relaxation. He loved walking to school with Kari. Truthfully, it would be faster to go directly from his own apartment, but he didn't mind. On the contrary, he preferred to meet with her. He cherished every moment he got to spend with her that was just the two of them. And sadly, those moments were growing less and less frequent as the summer drew closer. She was always busy – either studying for their imminent final exams, or going places with TK.

_Don't focus on that now,_ Davis thought firmly, wrenching his wandering mind away from that topic. Instead, he glanced around at the people milling about on either side of him. Most of them were walking alone, but every here and there he caught sight of a lucky individual that had received his or her partner Digimon. All around said people, other pedestrians were whispering and craning their heads to look wistfully at the small (and sometimes not so small) creatures that moved amongst them.

Five years had passed since the defeat of MaloMyotismon, and Digimon were becoming much more involved with the human population. Davis had noticed that more and more people seemed to be receiving their Digimon partners as time passed. He wasn't exactly sure how it happened, or when – whether the Digimon appeared while they were sleeping or simply burst right out of their briefcases or cereal in the morning – but the fact remained that with each passing day, the Digital World became more and more intertwined with the Real World. It was both refreshing and rewarding to know that the secret of the Digital World had been lifted from their shoulders.

Soon (_too soon,_ Davis thought regretfully) they had arrived at school. Davis immediately spotted Yolei, Cody and TK sitting underneath a large tree with a pile of notebooks in front of them. Together, Davis and Kari made their way over to them.

"Hey," he greeted as he came up to them. "Hey," Cody and TK replied in unison. Yolei merely grunted and thumbed through her notebooks fretfully. TK got to his feet, smiling at Kari. "Hi."

"Hey," she said, smiling, wrapping him in a hug. "You look great," he said appreciatively. Kari blushed. "Thanks." TK lowered his head and their lips gently met, his hands roving over her lower back.

Davis looked away. A sharp bite of jealousy surged through him.

Desperately looking for a distraction, he glanced down at Yolei as she rifled through her math binder. "What are you in such a huff about?"

"Are you kidding?" she exclaimed, looking up at him, her glasses shining in the sunlight. "The math test, that's what. We have to know the last four units in this textbook, Davis. _Four!_ And then we have to know two from the other book! On top of that, I didn't finish the calculus homework for second period..."

Davis and Cody blinked simultaneously. "Yolei, it's a Friday," Cody said patiently. "The teachers don't even check homework on Fridays."

"Have you gone mad?!" Yolei said sharply, causing Cody to reel back in surprise. "Do you not realize that our this test is in two weeks? _Two weeks_! And they forward these marks to university! Everything depends on me doing well! I have to get into the university of my dreams!"

Davis rolled his eyes. "Yolei, chill out. We all know you're going to end up acing every exam, and then you'll feel all stupid about freaking out."

"Just try me, Motomiya," she said, glaring at him. Davis backed away, raising his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright."

"Where's Gatomon?" TK asked Kari as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "She didn't walk to school with you?"

"No, she slept in today," Kari replied. Although many people did have Digimon partners now, they still weren't allowed at school or other academic institutions.

"Yo, Davis!" someone shouted. He turned around to see Ben, one of his good friends and fellow soccer teammates, standing halfway across the schoolyard, holding a soccer ball in his hands. "We're having a game before the bell goes. Want in?"

"Yes, please," Davis said quickly, eager to escape from Yolei's smouldering temper – and Kari and TK, who were kissing again. Davis felt the familiar quickening of his heart as his emotions raged within him, resentment and envy warring equally hard.

"We're gonna go too," Kari said, looking at TK. "We have to ask Ms. Ataki some questions about section C of the Chemistry syllabus."

"Alright," Davis said, smoothing his face into neutral. "See you later."

"Hey man, do you have practice today?" TK asked. Davis nodded. "First thing after school. Our match to see if we make the playoffs is in three days."

"Want us to come watch?" TK asked, in genuine interest. Davis's stomach clenched as he imagined looking over to see them making out in the bleachers. "No!"

Everyone looked at him curiously. "I mean, no, don't bother," he said quickly, grinning apologetically. "It'll probably be really boring, and we all have studying to do."

"I guess," TK said, starting to move off and pulling Kari by her wrist. "Well, anyways, gotta go. Bye!"

"Bye," Cody called.

Davis looked over at Kari as she hurried after TK, her hand in his. She looked back as she jogged across the schoolyard. "Bye, Davis!" she called out.

"Yeah... later," he called back, watching her go, unable to refrain from staring at her beautiful legs as they gleamed in the sunlight. Unbidden, his eyes drifted upwards to her...

God, what was wrong with him? Why did he torture himself, watching the two of them together, and then start salivating at the thought of her?

"DAVIS!" Ben yelled from across the field. "Move it or lose it, man!"

"Guess that's my cue," Davis said, turning away from Cody and Yolei. "See you guys later!" He jogged away from them, firmly deciding to banish all thoughts of Kari and TK and lose himself in a good game of soccer.

But all the same, he was unable to stop himself from glancing over his shoulder for one last look at her, only to find that the sunlight had already swallowed her up.


	3. To His Coy Mistress

Eliot. Blake. Marvell. Yeats.

Poetry.

The bane of Davis's existence.

"You'll be expected to write commentaries on works from one of more of the following poets," Davis's English teacher, Mr. Takanawa, was saying. "That will comprise the first half of the test. For the second half, you will have to write an essay outlining the following..."

Davis yawned loudly and glanced at the clock in the corner of the classroom for the umpteenth time that day. _Only two fifty!_ He groaned inwardly. Did someone disable the clocks when he wasn't looking? He could have sword it was two fifty the last time he checked.

Turning away, Davis looked up at the chalkboard, where Mr. Takanawa was busy writing the names of several poems the class has studied throughout the year under the names of their respective poet. There were three options from each.

Yawning again, Davis started to lay his head down in the nook of his arm, when suddenly a balled up piece of paper bounced off his forehead. He looked over one row to his right and noticed Kari shaking her head at him, smiling ever so slightly.

_Pay attention,_ she mouthed.

He grunted and turned back to the front of the class.

"For the remainder of the class you will be getting into groups of two and analyzing a key verse from a poem I shall assign to you," Mr. Takanawa droned on. "Please listen closely as I call out your names. Yolei Inoue, Ben Kita. You two are working on Blake's _The Tyger._ Niko, you and Takuya are doing Elliot's _Hollow Men. _Koji..."

And so on so forth. Davis sank into a stupor until Mr. Takanawa finally called: "Davis Motomiya and Kari Kamiya, you'll be doing Marvell's _To His Coy Mistress."_

_At least I'm with Kari,_ Davis thought, but it was still poetry. Still English. He sighed in resignation.

"How many times have I told you not to fall asleep in class?" Kari said, swatting the back of his head as she pulled her desk up next to him.

Davis looked at her. She began to tug her hair out of its pristine bun, letting the mahogany tendrils sift through her fingers like molten chocolate. Davis watched her smooth her hair out, almost in a trance, until she glanced quizzically at him. Quickly, he formulated a response.

"For the last time, I wasn't sleeping. There was a bug in my eye and I was trying to suffocate him."

To his delight, Kari giggled, covering her mouth with one hand. "A bug? Wow, Davis. I've got to give you credit there. You certainly are original."

He leaned back in his chair smugly. "I aim to please."

"Well, you can please me by helping me analyze this poem. Here, read it." Kari, still with a little smile tugging at her lips, pulled the sheaf of papers closer and placed them in front of him. As he took them from her, the tips of their fingers briefly touched.

Davis felt very faint, almost electric sensation run through him for the briefest moment, almost like a static shock. He glanced at Kari, who was staring at their hands. When she looked up and caught him watching her, she turned slightly pink and looked down at her paper again.

Shaking his head, Davis lowered his eyes to the poem and began to read.

_Had we but world enough, and time,  
This coyness, Lady, were no crime  
We would sit down and think which way  
To walk and pass our long love's day..._

"That's so pretty," Kari sighed, looking at the curly script on the page. "I love Marvell. His poems are so romantic."

Davis blinked. "Kari, it's about a guy who's trying to get a girl to have sex with him."

"It's much deeper than that, Davis!" she said indignantly. "It's all about the message the poem gives us. You need to –" she stopped and did a double take. "Did you just say you actually knew what it was about?"

"Of course," Davis replied in annoyance. "Wow," Kari breathed. "You paid attention for once."

"I do that a lot," he said wistfully, "yet people are always surprised." She giggled again, then grabbed his goggles and pulled his head down towards the paper. "Focus, gogglehead. Look at the grander scheme of things, or you're going to fail the test."

"I'll fail it anyways."

"No, you won't. Here, look at these lines –" her fingers danced across the page.

_Thus, though we cannot make our sun  
Stand still, yet we will make him run._

"This is an allusion to the Latin phrase _carpe diem _– sieze the day," Kari explained. "It means that the man in the poem is trying to convince the woman that their time is running out. Nothing lasts forever Davis, that's what Marvell's trying to say. If you had one moment to capture everything you ever dreamed, would you take it?"

_To capture everything you ever dreamed..._

"That's deep," Davis said. "Everything makes a lot more sense when you explain it to me."

"If you want, we can study it together," Kari offered. "Come by my place next week and we'll see if we can tackle some English review."

"Cool!" Davis exclaimed, hoping he didn't sound too eager. "Thanks, princess." She smiled.

"Don't mention it. Now, here, help me write the essay outline..."

x x x x

The bell rang sometime later and Davis was out the door. He bade goodbye to Kari, who still had questions about her chemistry homework and was on her way to Ms. Ataki's classroom. He then headed directly for the field behind the school where he had soccer practice.

He was digging through his gym bag as he walked, not paying attention to where he was going as students milled about on either side of him in the crowded hallway. As a result, he walked right into someone, knocking their books all over the floor.

"Sorry about that," Davis apologized, and the kid looked up. It was TK. "Nice going," he said, grinning slightly. "I think your goggles are a bit too tight. They're cutting off oxygen to your brain."

"Very funny, TE," Davis quipped, helping the other teen pick up his books. "What are you still doing here, anyways?" He knew TK had a last period spare on Fridays, since his schedule was different. Davis, Kari and Yolei had a spare when TK had English, and vice versa.

"I promised Cody I'd help him fix a problem in the computer room," TK said. "And afterward Kari and I are going for ice cream."

Davis felt a familiar swooping feeling of disappointment in the pit of his stomach, but he shrugged it off. "Do me a favour and pick me up some chocolate chip cookie dough," he said, clapping TK on the shoulder. The other boy smirked. "Get rocky road. That's a _man's_ ice cream."

The two turned and headed down the hallway together. "I thought you said you had soccer practice?" TK asked, as they avoided a loud group of girls on their left. The entire pack giggled as they drew closer, batting their eyelashes at the two boys and casting appreciative glances at the two. Davis smirked slightly as he passed by. Most of the girls at school were wild about TK, and would have jumped at the chance to simply walk next to him in the halls. However, since he was dating Kari, he had to contend with a preposterous amount of jealousy. Kari, however, was so popular that nobody would try anything, and remained relatively unaffected.

Davis himself had also grown into a much stronger, level-headed person. While he could never be called patient (he still had a bit of a habit of rushing into things without thinking of the consequences), he was much more careful than he had been back in his adventuring days as a DigiDestined. Constant soccer practice and weight lifting had also left him strong and muscular. A ton of girls at school were also after him, but Davis was never anything more than amused at their antics.

"I'm on my way now," Davis said, in response to TK's earlier question. "And then I have a nice evening of lying around to look forward to."

"What a life we live," TK laughed, shaking his head. Davis grinned and, as they passed the cafeteria, headed towards the gym to change. "Catch you later."

"Yeah, see you."

x x x x

A gruelling hour and a half later, Davis was drenched in sweat and his limbs were screaming in protest as he made a spectacular slide tackle into Ben's heel, knocking him flat and preventing him from getting a clear shot at the goal net. Ben landed hard, taking the brunt of the fall on his palms to avoid a serious injury. Unfortunately, one of his hands came down on a very sensitive area.

"GOD DAMN IT!"

A sharp whistle blew as Ben rolled off Davis, who was curled up into a ball, cupping himself and swearing in agony. Ben stood, dusting himself and grinning sheepishly as their coach walked over to them. "What's the big idea, guys?" He asked, annoyed.

"Yeah... sorry," Ben muttered, glancing down at Davis and grinning like a loon. "I guess I hit him too hard."

"I hate you," Davis gasped.

Their coach was not impressed. "Stop goofing off, you two. You'll need to play at the top of your game if you want to make the playoffs, and that'll be hard to do if you can't even run properly."

"Sorry," Davis winced as he accepted Ben's outstretched hand, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. "Won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't. All right you guys, that's enough for one day. We pick it up Monday at 3:00 sharp. Don't be late."

Their teammates began to drift toward the corner of the field, where they had all left their gym bags. Davis and Ben headed after them.

"Not a bad tackle," Ben said, smirking. Davis socked him in the shoulder. "Watch where you land next time."

The two reached the cluster of knapsacks, where the rest of the team was getting their gear together tiredly. None of them seemed to have much energy left.

Davis knelt over his gym bag and began rifling through it. He found a water bottle inside and opened it, drinking half of it in one deep drought, before pouring the rest of it over his head. It felt amazing on his sweat soaked face.

As he shook his head from side to side, spraying droplets of water everywhere, he reached blindly inside his bag for a towel. However, his fingers closed around something else, something cold and metallic, which was vibrating slightly. His D-Terminal.

"Must be a new email," Davis muttered to himself as he flipped it open. Sure enough, several lines of typed font greeted him. It was from Kari.

_Dear Davis,_

_Everyone's going to Izzy's for an emergency meeting. There's some sort of trouble in the Digital World. Make sure to bring DemiVeemon and your D3; we might have to go there straight away._

_Kari_

_I wonder what's up?_ Davis thought as he stowed his D-Terminal back in his gym bag, frowning contemplatively as he rubbed the sweat and water off his face with a towel. There hadn't been any trouble in the DigiWorld for years – nothing since they defeated MaloMyotismon.

"Hey, Davis," Ben called from a short ways away. "We're all going to get something to eat. Want to come?"

"Sorry, I can't," Davis said quickly. "I've got family over tonight."

Ben shrugged. "Kay. See you."

The rest of his team headed off the field, talking and laughing. Davis stared after them before shouldering his gym bag and hurrying off toward home. If there was something wrong in the Digital World, he was going to find out what it was.

_--  
_

_A/N: I realize that this chapter may seem boring at first, but rest assured it will have its significance later. And don't worry, action begins starting next chapter. Also, please leave reviews, they make me happy._


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